The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and referred to by the cultivar name Empire Harmony.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in New York Mills, N.Y. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms and floret colors and good garden performance.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in October, 1994, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Sunny Linda (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,145) as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Empire Harmony was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in New York Mills, N.Y., in September, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floret color.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in New York Mills, N.Y., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.